By 
OMAGH CBS joint-manager Pat McNabb hopes that his side are coming to the boil at the right time ahead of their MacRory Cup quarter-final clash against St Patrick’s Armagh on Friday night in Fintona.
They finished strongly to record a victory in the last 16 against Patrician High Carrickmacross, a game where they were boosted by the timely return of Minor Footballer of the Year, Peter Colton, who came on late on as a sub.
Despite being hit by injuries, the Brothers have successfully plotted a path to the quarter-finals of the prestigious schools competition which they have won on seven separate occasions, most recently in 2024.
McNabb, who manages the side with Conor McFlynn, said that: “Peter coming on [against Patrician] scared them a wee bit – you could see two lads making their way over to him, and that might have created a bit of space.
“Thomas Meenan was excellent, so was Michael McNamee. Ryan Baxter might go unnoticed to some people but he was absolutely outstanding.
“There are a few lads out but we got Peter back on the pitch without being overly exerted, the Rannafast boys will be back in action, and Cathal Farley and one or two other lads are returning so hopefully we’ll be in a better place.”
This is the second time in this year’s campaign that they’re set to cross paths with St Patrick’s Armagh. The Brothers lost their group stage meeting on a scoreline of 4-12 to 2-12, a game where they relinquished a 2-8 0-6 interval lead.
Still, they’ll have learnt a lot from that game and they showed real fortitude to fend off a spirited comeback from Patrician in their last 16 clash.
The Brothers held a deceptively comfortable 0-8 to 0-2 lead at the interval, but a wind-assisted Patrican came roaring out of the blocks and edged into the lead with just a smidgeon over 15 minutes remaining.
They only managed one more score though, as Pat McNabb and Conor McFlynn made the necessary tactical readjustments and unleashed their bench, setting in motion a really strong finish to an entertaining duel.
The game still hung precariously in the balance heading into the home straight but a late equalising score by corner-back Ryan Baxter was followed by a game-winning goal by sub Vincent Lowry, who is also making his mark as part of Clogher’s ongoing All-Ireland campaign.
McNabb commented: “The first thing I’d say is that we played Patrician three years ago, and I know that was a different team, but as a school they don’t fear us.
“They came into this year’s MacRory after winning the MacLarnon Cup, and they’re well used to winning games so we knew it would be a tough battle.
“We did well overall in the first-half but expected a backlash and that’s what we got. They started chipping over scores and we needed something to stem the tide.
“Thankfully we kept the scoreboard ticking over and that kept us in the game, then Vincent came on and roofed it to the net. Sometimes you take a gamble on these things and thankfully it worked out.”
